Parallel World
by PussyWillowCat
Summary: Rose Tyler was left behind by the Doctor. She has to have three more broken promises before she understands. Rose's life after Bad Wolf Bay, her loves and friends. Told over the span of about seven years.


Show Details

Rose Tyler got up out of her bed. It was raining outside, and she was headed to Torchwood. It had been seven months since the Doctor had been forced to leave her at Bad Wolf Bay. She sighed and covered her head with her arms until she got to her car. She opened the door and pulled away.

When she got to Torchwood, Ianto, a man she worked with brought her coffee. She smiled at him.

"Thanks, Ianto." He nodded, looking a bit nervous.

"Er, Rose?" She smiled.

"Yeah?" He blushed.

"Well, I was wondering if, you know, if you wanted to come see a play with me on Saturday?" Slightly taken aback, she asked, "Like a date?" He blushed again.

"Well... If you want it to be." She grinned, her tongue poking out.

"I'd love to Ianto." He looked relieved.

"Yeah, okay. So I'll pick up at six?" She nodded. Looking immensly pleased with him self, he left her office.

Rose couldn't help herself. She let out a giggle. Bouncing excitedly, she picked up the phone.

"Donna?"

"Hey, Rose what's up?"

"You will not believe who just asked me out!" Donna shrieked.

"Ianto?!"

"Yes!" Rose grinned. Donna shrieked again.

"I know! Well, I gotta go, work and stuff." Donna sighed.

"Okay, see you."

Rose hung up, a smile still on her face.

That night, Ianto pulled up to her doorstep.

"Hey," he said, smiling.

"Hi." She got in to his car.

"So, what play are we seeing?" She asked.

"Romeo and Juliet." Rose smiled, on of her favorites.

By the time it was over, she had tears in her eyes.

"But they loved each other so much!" She sobbed. Ianto wiped tears from his eyes.

"I know, poor Romeo. Poor Juliet." He extended his arm, and she took it. They walked to the car.

"Want to go to this park?" He asked. She nodded.

They drove down the streets, to a park Rose had never seen before.

"Hmm..."

"What?" Ianto asked her. She shook her head. This park hadn't been in her London. Ianto opened her door for her. She stepped out.

"I recommend taking your shoes off," he suggested. "The grass is really nice and soft." Rose nodded and they walked barefoot down the path.

"I'm not from here," she told him. She felt the need to tell him this, before they got into a relationship.

"I came from a parallel world." Ianto didn't look surprised.

"There this was this man... a wonderful man. We fell in love, and then... well we were fighting some aliens, and he was forced to leave me here." She brushed some tears from her eyes.

"You were a companion of the Doctor's, weren't you?" She looked at him in surprise.

"How-"

"There's a whole file at Torchwood. I knew there was something strange about you." She bit her lip

"I just wanted to let you know, you have me. If you ever need help." She nodded.

He spread his coat on the ground, and pulled her down onto it.

"Let's look at the stars." They lay down and looked at the glittering display of stars.

He pointed to Andromeda.

"Andromeda was a beautiful girl whose mother was jealous of her..." Rose listened to Ianto's voice as she drifted to sleep.

The next morning they awoke to a beautiful sunrise. Rose started to laugh as she realized they had fallen asleep in the park. She woke up Ianto and they went back to his car, giggling.

When she got home Jackie was waiting for her, looking frantic. She spotted Rose.

"Rose Tyler! Where were you? I've been looking for you all night, and-"

"I was with Ianto." Jackie observed the slightly dreamy expression on her daughter's face. She hadn't looked like that since the Doctor.

"Oh," Jackie said. Well, if Rose was happy, then it was okay. After all, she was almost twenty two now.

Rose floated up the stairs, thinking of Ianto.

That day at work everyone seemed to know about the date. They smiled happily at young Rose Tyler, the mysterious woman who had shown up seven months ago, claiming to be the daughter of Pete Tyler. She had been so sad, and it made most people happy to see her so relaxed and joyful.

Rose ate lunch with Ianto, and they went on another date that night. It was as happy as the other one, soon Rose and Ianto were almost insepreable.

Two months after Rose and Ianto had started to date , he invited her to meet his parents. She agreed, and met him at their house, standing outside the door.

"Come in, come in." Ianto's mother was very nice, and his father as well.

"So Rose, what do you do?" Mrs. Jones asked her. She glanced at Ianto, wondering if they knew about Torchwood.

"I work at Torchwood." She beamed.

"Really, now? So does Ianto, I expect that's how you two met?" Rose and Ianto nodded in unison. Mrs. Jones smiled. Rose seemed like such a sweet girl, a perfect match for her Ianto. She hoped they were together a while.

After dinner, Rose went over to Ianto's. He pulled her into his lap on the sofa. She giggled, and looked into his eyes. There was a dark longing in his eyes. She stopped giggling and kissed him. His arms locked around her waist, and his around her neck. The kiss went on, until they had to breath. They broke apart, their breath ragged.

"Bedroom?" He asked. She nodded. He carried her up the stairs, his heart pounding against her cheek.

Afterwards, she curled up against his side, and whispered:

"I love you."

He smiled, and replied,

"I love you too." She jumped. She hadn't realized he was awake. She smiled, and fell asleep with his arms around her.

Two weeks after that, she moved in with him. They had a routine:

Get up, drink coffee Ianto made, cuddle, get dressed, go to work, Ianto would glare at the young analyst who would flirt with Rose, they would eat lunch, finish work, and go home. Rose would try to cook dinner, but then Ianto would have to take over, as she was rubbish at cooking. They would eat, then go up to bed, she would curl up next to him, and they would fall asleep.

On weekends, they would go hiking in secluded place, maybe go rent a hotel and have a mini vacation. The pictures on the mantel would build up, of her and Ianto in front of the ocean, his arms wrapped around, hiking a mountain, the sun illumanting her blonde hair. Many of photos similar to that were scattered around, and the house was cozy and homey, almost unnaturally perfect.

One night, a year and a half after Ianto and Rose had gotten together, Ianto came home from Torchwood late, or at least that's what he told Rose. In reality, he was browsing jelwery shops, looking for a perfect ring. Finally, at the sixth shop he tried, he found it. It was silver, and had a single diamond in the center, and was surrounded by little sapphires. He bought it, and was driving home. It was snowing lightly (after all, it was the beginning of January) when a huge semi truck had slammed into him. He could feel the car spin, but he had no control. He could feel a darkness baring down on him, and Ianto Jones closed his eyes for the last time.

Rose was sitting in her bed, waiting for Ianto to come home. It was late, and her eyes were drifting closed when the phone rang. She sighed and got up.

"Hello?"

"Hello, is this Rose Tyler?"

"Yes."

"I regret to inform you that your signifigant other, Ianto Jones, was killed in a carcrash. He died instantly. I am sorry for your loss." He sounded cold and indifferent.

Rose stumbled backwards, hanging up. He was dead? Ianto? Her Ianto? No, he couldn't be. No.

She walked outside to her car, biting her lip. She sat on the seat as the tears came.

He couldn't be dead. But somehow, he was. He was gone forever, away from her. The tears streamed down her cheeks, as she put the car in reverse, driving slowly down the road. If only she could tell him how much she had loved him.

CHAPTER TWO

It had been two years after Ianto's death. She had been with her Torchwood team (Ianto's absence seemed to hurt especially here) when she was hurt by a Weavel. They took her to the hospital, ans healed her. When she awoke, the first face she saw was a man with dark blue eyes, sandy brown hair, and a slightly too big nose. She smiled up at him. After she got out of the hospital, she found herself going on more dangerous missions, hoping to get injured, just so she could see Rory again. After going to the hospital six more times, he asked her to dinner. She gladly accepted.

"I used to have this crush on this girl named Amy. She was obsessed with this Raggedy Doctor, said he appeared in her backyard in a blue box." Rose stared at him in surprise.

"Reaaallly... Well, it so happens that I traveled with him." Rory stared at her.

"Really. I don't work with Vetex Energy drinks, I work with Torchwood, a goverment company that deals with extraterrestial life on Earth." Rory stared at her.

"You're crazy." Rose shook her head.

"No." Rory looked uncomfortable.

"Um... Look, maybe it's time I go." He got up and left. Rose watched sadly as he walked away.

Two weeks later, Rory was walking through a park when he saw, to his surprise, Rose. She was talking into cell phone. He watched as she crept across the field to a -wait, what was that? It was green and had a small head, and seemed to be mumbling to itself. Rose removed a dangerous looking gun out of her belt. Taking aim, she fired. Rory watched in shock as a whole team of people seemed to melt from the shadows. They threw a net over the strange creature and wrapped it up. Rose made one last call, and a unviersal black van pulled up. They loaded the thing into the car, and Rose was about to climb in after them when he called out.

"Rose!" She turned and saw him. He ran up to her.

"I'm sorry I didn't believe you. Would you like to have dinner again?" She grinned at him.

"Sure."

Two months later, they visited Leadworth. She agreed with him, it was quite cozy. She met his parents, who seemed very nice.

"She's a sweet girl," they told Rory after Rose had gone up to bed.

"Yeah, she is."

After that, they decided to go on a trip to America. They started to plan, and save up money. They made sure to tell Torchwood and the hospital that they wanted to take a while off. Five months later, they boarded a flight to New York. When they got there, they went to the top of the Empire State Building, and got a stranger to take a picture of them. After that, they rented a car and drove to Washington DC. They toured the Capital, and then went to Florida, swimming in the aqua water. It was there that she told him she loved him. In New Orleans, he proposed to her. She accepted. They got back to London in May. When they told Jackie, she started to plan like a frenzy.

On June 29th, two months after she had gotten back to London, she walked into Torchwood. The wedding was in a month. Everything was going perfectly, Jackie had the caterers dealt with, she had picked out a dress, and they had rented the church. It was after she came out of her wedding induced reverie that she noticed. Everyone was giving her pitying looks. Confused, the continued on to her office. When she got there, and opened up the paper, she saw on the front page:

BANK ROBBERY LEAVES ONE DEAD: RORY WILLIAMS, AGE 29

Rose walked calmly out of her office and told her father she was taking two weeks off. She drove home and cried into her pillow.

CHAPTER THREE

Rose met Owen Harper a eighteen months after Rory died. Pete had come into her office with a handsome dark haired man. She smiled politely at him. Pete told her to show him the ropes. She nodded, groaning inwardly. She gestured to Owen and started the tour.

"This is the analyst room..."

And hour and a half later, Owen and Rose got back to her office. Owen had proved himself to be smart and capital, but he was immensly closed off. He hadn't said anything the whole tour. After he departed, Rose sighed and opened a file she had to edit. Unfortunately, as soon as she was about to read, a flashing sign got her attention.

ATTENTION ROSE TYLER: NEW PARTNER, OWEN HARPER, AGE 30

Rose bit her lip and got up to go and educate Owen Harper.

"You know," Pete said during dinner one time. "You should invite Owen to dinner." Rose stared at him.

"Why?" Pete shook his head.

"Rose, because! He seems so nice." Rose sighed and nodded meekly. There was no way she could convince her mother and Pete otherwise.

The next day at work, Rose went up to Owen and asked,

"Would you like to come over for dinner tonight? My mother is making meatloaf, she's practically famous for it." Owen looked slightly taken aback.

"Er... Sure." Rose smiled at him and then went to tell Pete he had excepted.

That night, Owen seemed much more humorous then usual. He kept Jackie laughing almost all night. After he left, Jackie took Rose aside.

"Rose, you should ask Owen out. He seemed so nice." Rose shook her head.

"Mum, no. I can't, not yet. I'm just not ready for a relationship." Jackie nodded, understanding.

Two days later Owen asked her to a movie. She accepted, albeit a little reluctantly.

And that was how, two weeks later, Rose ended up strolling down the street hand in hand with Owen Harper.

He was so much nicer then she had thought. He was kinder, caring. He was very protective, and would send a very Oncoming Storm-esque look at any man who would say anything to her. Rose quite enjoyed this. One day, three months after Owen and her had started dating, they lay quietly in a park on the outside of London.

"Owen," she said, her voice a little grave. "I'm not anything special, not really. Maybe I work with aliens, and I have a more adventrous life then most, but I'm just a girl. I'm just like any other girl in the world. I'm out of place here. This isn't my universe, and it never will be. It's like it's conspiring against me. First the Doctor, then Ianto." Her voice broke. Owen glanced at her, but her eyes were closed.

"Then Rory, and now you. And Owen, I'm afraid. I can't lose someone else." She had tears trailing down her cheeks. Owen wrapped his arms around her, and held her tight.

"I won't leave you."

A week after the park, Rose and Owen eloped. They didn't tell anyone, and had very simple rings so as not to bring attention to them. They decided to each tell one person. Rose told Donna. She screamed and started jumping up and down, her red hair flying.

"Oh. My. God. You're married! Married! Rose Tyler, now known as Rose Harper!" Rose blushed.

"Donna, relax. No one else can know." Donna had nodded.

"I won't tell anyone! But, wow! Rose Tyler, a married woman!" Rose couldn't help it, she dissolved into giggles of happiness.

Owen had told his brother, who was very nice, and seemed to adore Rose.

After a particularly hard mission, Rose and Owen fell asleep at Jackie's on the couch, curled up. When Jackie came down the next morning, she took Owen aside.

"Look," she said, glaring at Owen. "Rose had lost a lot of people she loves, so don't you dare go dying on her, okay?" Owen had nodded.

"Can I tell you something?" Owen asked. Jackie nodded. He lifted up his left hand, and showed her the ring. Jackie stifled a shriek.

"You're married?!" Owen quieted her.

"Look, don't tell Rose I told you, okay?" He asked. She nodded.

"How long?" He smiled. "Seven months." Jackie grinned at him.

The flat that Owen and Rose bought was only a couple of blocks from Torchwood. The Harper flat, as they dubbed it, was alway cheerful and happy.

One morning, Rose awoke to a ringing phone. She groaned and answered it. Damn, it was Torchwood. She sighed and shook awoke Owen.

"Humph. Too early. Go away."

"It's Torchwood." He sighed heavily and shoved himself out of bed. They stumbled down the steps and walked to Torchwood. The annoyingly perky lady explained the mission, something about Plasmavores. Rose and Owen linked hands and went to trick each other out in weapons.

"I love guns," Owen said adoringly, stroking the barrel.

"Do you two want some alone time?" Rose joked. Owen grinned. They started down the steps to sewars, where the Plasmavore was apparently lurking.

"Blimey, why the sewards?" Rose complained. Owen shrugged.

"Who knows?" They came to a fork in the sewards. The grinned at each other.

"Love you," Rose said.

"Love you too." They parted ways. Rose had been walking for about fifteen minutes when her radio buzzed.

"Rose... help... me" Owen choked out. Rose's blood chilled. She ran back to other way, her feet echoing. She got to a room, and saw a female Plasmavore removing a straw from Owen's neck.

"No!" Without a second thought, she shot. The Plasmavore fell. Rose rushed forward and collapsed next to Owen's body.

"Owen, come back. You promised. You promised." She kept repeating the words, tears falling down her cheeks.

She vaguely heard a Torchwood team come in. She ignored them. Finally, Pete came up to her.

"Rose, he's gone."

"No, no. He promised." She beat Owen's chest with her fists.

Pete picked her up and carried away. Rose reached out, trying to get away.

"You promised. You promised." She whispered brokenly. It made no different. Owen Harper was gone, and he wasn't coming back.

Mickey Smith walked up the path to Powell Estate. He was going to see Rose. It had been a month since Owen had died, and Rose wasn't doing anything. She had quit Torchwood, and hadn't been out in weeks. He knocked on the door. Jackie answered.

"Oh, Mickey. Thank God you're here. She hardly talks, and she's barely eating." Mickey followed her to Rose's room. She knocked tentavily.

"Rose? There's someone here to meet you." She opened the door. Mickey stepped in. The room was pink, and clothes were scattered everywhere, typical Rose. What wasn't Rose-like was the heartbroken expression on her face. Mickey closed the door behind him.

"Rose," he said softly. "Rose, you have to move on." Rose turned away.

"Why doesn everyone always leave?" Mickey's heart broke as he heard the soft pain in her voice.

"They wouldn't if they had the choice, Rose." She sighed, and got out of bed.

"I'll try, Mickey." And she did try, but anyone could see the difference. She was closed off and rarely spoke to anyone. One thing was for certain.

Rose Marion Tyler Harper would never fall in love again.


End file.
